[Callers] A Shadow Swing and New moves for contras...

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:53:01 -0500 (EST) 

Greetings!
I very much agree with Greg's list of "thoughts about contra dance moves". This is an area that begs for lots of wonderful conversations among callers...we have a responsibility to keep a healthy balance between the traditions, and the evolution of dancing. I encourage one of you to apply for NEFFA 2009 (the schedule for 2008 is all done!), with this as a topic for discussion! 


And as for shadow swings, three cheers to Chris Weiler for his  
thoughts! One of the most satisfying venues for me to call is the  
community dance, where dancers are happy to dance with each other,  
regardless of skill. There is a recognition of the need to "take  
care" of one another in order for the joy of the dance to be shared  
by all, and an understanding that the dancing will continue only if  
we make sure that new dancers feel welcome. The dance in Rehoboth,  
MA  is probably one of the best community dances that demonstrates  
this commitment. I, like Chris, when dancing, tend to wait until the  
last minute, and ask someone I don't know, or who seems shy, to  
dance. If is works out to be fun, then it is great for both of us; if  
is was not so pleasurable, thus is life....and after all, a dance is  
*only* 12 minutes or so!  The same can be said for having a shadow  
that you do not choose: there is the potential serendipity of making  
a new friend, or the possibility of a less than thrilling experience.  
I am willing to take the risk! Certainly only one dance in an evening  
with a shadow swing would be advisable, but not calling any at all  
also seems to me to be a mistake.



I am also reminded of an experience at a very small dance on Cape  
Cod. A not so skilled dancer (gent) who had trouble hearing the  
calls, was a fervent attendee at the dance in Sandwich. Because the  
number of dancers is small (though high in energy!), it was obvious  
that this gent was left out until the end or entirely, and often  
would be paired with new dancers. The experienced women got together  
and decided that they would each take a turn asking him to dance one  
dance on any given evening. What a marvelous plan! He was as happy as  
could be, smiling the whole evening, and the dance in general was  
more enjoyable for all as a consequence. He may not have been on  
time, or skilled, but the joy from him made everybody feel great!



So Jeremy, I would say don't be shy about calling a dance with a  
shadow swing!

warmly, Linda Leslie



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Message: 1
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:48:49 -0800 (GMT-08:00)
From: Greg McKenzie <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Callers] What did he say !??? MWSD
To: Caller's discussion list <[email protected]>
Message-ID:

	<20647868.1201114129207.JavaMail.root@elwamui- 
polski.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

        
Jerome wrote:

One other thing I might mention about bringing Modern Western  
Square moves

into Contra crowds: ...



Then there is also the other, more basic, discussion about both the  
advisability of this course and the responsibilities it entails.



The contra dance tradition, as it currently stands, is still one of  
the most effective means of bringing a roomfull of people with  
widely varying skill levels together in a joyful evening of social  
dance to live music, without the requirement of separate lessons.



For some of us this is the most attracive quality of contras.  An  
effort to increase the number of calls and the skills necessary to  
participate at any evening of contra dance is a bold course that  
could do violence to the traditional role of contras.  An effort to  
do so should be pursued with caution.  Each step in this direction  
should be precluded with a series of questions:



- How will this addition affect the confidence level of first-time  
dancers in the hall?



- How will it affect their ability to participate and the  
likelihood that they will return?



- How should I characterize this addition to make it clear that it  
varies from the basic tradition of contras?



- What is the appropriate venue to introduce this kind of  
variation?  (Dance camps, special events, festivals, or regular  
contra dance series?)



- Are my variations significant enough over the course of the  
evening that I have a responsibility to distinguish this event, in  
the publicity, from a regular evening of contras?



- Would I like to see this variation become a part of the contra  
dance tradition?


Just a thought,
Greg McKenzie






. . . and Chris did an excellent job calling a fun dance he co- 
wrote. Will you consider posting it on SharedWeight, Chris?



During the same open mike session, I enjoyed dancing Nils  
Fredland's "Head of the Bed" to Dave Eisenstatter's calling, and it  
got me thinking. I've called dances with shadow swings  
infrequently, because in the back of my head I think about the  
following excerpt from Cary Ravitz's notes on contra choreography:  
"Watch out for excessive trail buddy interaction. People don't  
choose their trail buddy and they are stuck with them for the  
entire dance. . . . Trail buddy swings are not allowed."



However, Cary also emphasizes that those are his personal  
preferences, and others' preferences may vary. So I'd appreciate  
others' thoughts on this -- are shadow swings as strongly negative  
an issue for you as they are for Cary? Clearly they were not an  
issue for Nils when writing "Head of the Bed" or Seth T. when  
writing "Meg's a Dancing Fool," for instance.


Thanks,
Jeremy

Jeremy Korr
East of Los Angeles

_________________________________________________________________
Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live.

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ocid=TXT_TAGHM_Wave2_sharelife_012008


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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:37:56 -0500
From: "Koren A. Wake" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Shadow swings
To: "Caller's discussion list" <[email protected]>
Message-ID:
        <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1


This is my opinion mainly as a dancer, not so much as a caller, but  
I'm
inclined to agree with Cary - especially when you consider that the  
more
shadow interaction there is, the less partner interaction!  A nice  
shadow
move that bounces me back to my partner can be very cool, and when  
my shadow

is a good dancer or good friend of mine, I'm happy to have more shadow

interaction, but it's a gamble.  I might be stuck with a shadow  
who's a
terrible dancer, or smells bad, or is generally just not someone  
I'd want to
dance with, and not only are you (the choreographer and caller)  
forcing me
to swing him every time through the dance, you're also taking me  
away from

the person who I *did* choose to dance with.

On the other hand, there are really cool dances with lots of shadow

interaction, too.  If the dance itself is cool enough, I'm willing  
to let

myself get pulled away from my partner more.

- Koren

On 1/23/08, J L Korr <[email protected]> wrote:




Message: 4
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:35:16 -0500 (EST)
From: Greg McKenzie <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Shadow swings
To: Caller's discussion list <[email protected]>
Message-ID:

	<11856886.1201127716708.JavaMail.root@elwamui- 
karabash.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

        
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8


Jeremy,

I enjoy shadow swings.

Greg

********

Chris Weiler wrote:




Message: 5
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:47:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Mark Galipeau <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Shadow swings
To: Caller's discussion list <[email protected]>
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

I love it when I have a shadow, without a swing, and
the caller throws in in the last iteration of the
dance, swing your shadow, just as a final good bye
gesture!  Makes for a nice finish to a dance.



Message: 7
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:23:38 -0500
From: Chris Weiler <[email protected]>
Subject: [Callers] Give the Scout a Hand
To: Shared Weight <[email protected]>
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Jeremy,

Here is the dance that you asked for:

Give the Scout a Hand          Becket-L
Bob Isaacs and Chris Weiler

A1.  Circle L 3/4, neighbor swing
A2.  Long lines, gents allemande L 1 1/2 - give R to partner

B1.  Balance, box the gnat, 1/2 hey with hands (partner pull by R,  
gents

pull by L, neighbor pull by R, ladies pull by L)
B2.  Partner balance, swing, then slide L, etc.


Written for a fundraiser auction for the Concord Scout House in  
Concord,

MA. Written 6/17/07. I prefer the 1/2 hey with hands to a standard hey

since it gives the whole dance a connected feeling. I have used it  
with

mixed crowds before with success.

Best,
Chris






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Message: 8
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:35:52 -0500
From: Chris Weiler <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Shadow swings
To: Caller's discussion list <[email protected]>
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Jeremy,


I agree with Koren that it's a crap shoot when you call a shadow  
swing.

I definitely would never call one with a crowd that has more than a

minimal number of beginners. I also would never call more than one  
in an

evening.


That said, I like the gamble. I think that I'm a little unusual in  
that
I very often in the evening wait until the last minute to find a  
partner

and take whoever is available. I've met some wonderful dancers and

friends that way. Sometimes I get to dance with someone I haven't  
danced
with in a long time. I think it's fun. The shadow swing can be the  
same
way. Quite often when I have shadow interaction in a dance, I'll  
ask my

shadow to be my next partner when the dance is done.

Head of the Bed is unusual with it's 3 swings (Neighbor, Partner and
Shadow). When I first danced it at the Flurry, I knew I had to collect
it. But I haven't had more than one opportunity to call it. 8^) It's a
fun dance!

Happy Dancing!
Chris

















    











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